Obstacles in love with reference to "The Only Story" by Julian Barnes

Abstract

The Only Story, a British teenage romance, is a flawlessly executed novel with no flaws, contradictions, or visible flaws. Is it, however, more than that? Is Barnes just playing it safe following his courageous performance in The Noise of Time on the life of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Perhaps in terms of content. But not in the manner in which that subject is addressed. The Only Story makes bold assertions and raises unexpected concerns, demonstrating that Barnes isn't resting on his laurels.In the beginning of te story he states ,

Most of us have only one story to tell. I don’t mean that only one thing happens to us in our lives: there are countless events, which we turn into countless stories. But there’s only one that matters, only one finally worth telling. This is mine.

As Paul's storey progresses, it becomes evident that it is about love in general, and first love in particular, which, according to the book, is the only storey we have to tell about ourselves.

Other exquisite, haunting novels, such as Patrick Modiano's The Black Notebook, are clearly illuminated by such a claim. Is Barnes' storey of Paul and his sweetheart Susan, on the other hand, intended to serve as a warning tale about how draining it is for people when romantic love becomes their sole story. Is it a tragedy, or is it a comedy. Is Barnes implying that humans are bound to have only one meaningful love storey, even if that love is fleeting, contingent, and complicated, as Paul and Susan's is? Barnes seemed to largely agree with the latter viewpoint.

Consider teeth, for example. Paul says of Susan’s,

I must tell you about her teeth. Well, two of them, anyway. The middle front ones at the top. She called them her “rabbit teeth” because they were perhaps a millimeter longer than the strict national average; but that, to me, made them the more special. I used to tap them lightly with my middle finger, checking that they were there, and secure, just as she was. It was a little ritual, as if I was taking an inventory of her.

It's hard not to crack a smile at this little goofy but entirely plausible love gesture. Her teeth are visible throughout the first half of the novel, until they are tragically lost. If Barnes has anything to say about this, it's that small things like tooth tenderness are the signum et res — the sign and reality — of true love.

Key words

Time

Addiction

Guilt

Responsibility

Mental strenghth

Inner peace

Introduction

Paul Roberts, a 19 year old Sussex University undergraduate returning to his parents' home in London's green southern suburbs, is the protagonist of this novel .The setting is the early 1960s, with a few allusions to present events. Paul joins the tennis club, which is one of the few social activities available in such settings. He is paired with Susan MacLeod, a 48 year old married woman with two daughters older than Paul, in a mixed doubles match. Surprisingly, Paul and Susan fall in love, and Susan finally abandons her family to live with Paul in South London. Susan descends quickly, having nothing to do but a little housekeeping.

As we all know that writing a love story is very common having conflicts either it is of relationships or with the society, but in this story Julian Barnes had brought up some new idea which makes the story very unique and different form othe literary works.

The obstacles in love is the unconventional love between Paul and Susan which turns into an organic one. First they both develop respect for each other then they both develop feelings and decided to live together.From here the conflict starts and we can say thr main obstacle in their love is the age gap that they are having not the viee point of society but time.Here time plays crucial role or wr can say thr main obstacle between them.

All the above things had affected Susan and Paul in their respective place.For Susan it was impossible to leave her responsibility in order to live with Paul because she has her two daughters and a husband who abuses her.For her it was very hard to remove all the cruelty of her husband from her mind but what makes her happy is the time with paul. On the othet hand paul was very young and he was not able to handle the all those problems of Susan with her family.Althought Paul tries to solve it but in doing that he losses his inner peace.He wanted to be with Susan but because he was not that mature and experienced compare to Susan he was not able to make both of their lives at peace.

Although Paul's love story isn't particularly compelling, Barnes' analysis of it is. With careful observation, the author uses a scalpel to reveal his protagonist's goals, beliefs, and neuroses, much as he does in his prior works. The first section of the novel is written in first person, the second in second, and the third in third person, and these three voices correspond to three stages in Paul and Susan's relationship: the birth of love, the dying of love, and the aftermath of love.

Barnes maintains both of these facts in the first half of the story, writing in such a way that the provisionality of Paul and Susan's love is preserved despite the retrospective context. Later in the story, there's a similar reflective dynamic, like in this part, which features more of Barnes's sardonic humour:

I said I never kept a diary. This isn’t strictly true. There was a point, in my isolation and turmoil, when I thought writing things down might help. I used a hardback notebook, black ink, one side of the paper. I tried to be objective. There was no point, I thought, in merely venting my feelings of hurt and betrayal. I remember the line I wrote down was:

All alcoholics are liars.

All lovers are truth-tellers.

Therefore, the alcoholic is the opposite of the lover.

Conclusion

The whole story is indeed very beautiful beacause the way Barnes gave the freedom to the readers to assume that what will happen next or what is the reason behind having obstacles in love.The Only Story has a distinct voice and distinctive descriptions for each section. Taken as a whole, the novel offers a form of phenomenology of love as it develops, dissolves, and resurfaces in human awareness at various stages: development, dissolution, and remembering. Even if readers reject Paul's argument about the sole storey, it is a confusing and deeply delightful read. Barnes depicted that when their is truth, things goes on change with the passage of time.

Citation